The man's face twitched; but he obeyed.
"You're maddening, Bess," he flamed. "Positively maddening!"
"Perhaps," evenly. "I warned you that if you stayed we'd be ourselves
to-day. I merely told you things as they are."
Craig opened his lips to speak; but closed them again in silence. One of
his hands, long fingered, white as a woman's, lay in his lap. Against
his will now and then a muscle contracted nervously; and of a sudden he
thrust the telltale member deep into his trousers pocket.
"But the future, Bess," he challenged, "your future. You can't go on
this way indefinitely. What are you going to do?"
"I don't know."
"Haven't you ever thought of it?"
"It seems to me I've thought of nothing else--for an age."
"And you've decided nothing?"
"Absolutely nothing."
Again the man drew a long breath; but even thereafter his voice
trembled.
"Let me decide for you then, Bess," he said.
"You?" The girl inspected him slowly through level eyes. "By what right
should you be permitted to decide?"
The man returned her look. Of a sudden he had become calm. His eyes were
steady. Deep down in his consciousness he realised that he would win,
that the moment was his moment.
"The right is mine because I love you, Bess Landor," he said simply.
"Love me, after what you have done?"
"Yes. I have been mad--and done mad things. But I've discovered my
fault. That's why I've come back; to tell you so--and to make amends.
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